Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing-related Issues & News => Topic started by: Eagleye on November 20, 2008, 12:15:59 AM
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November 19, 2008
Farmed and Dangerous Action Alert
Help Stop Fish Farms Seeking to Double Production
In spite of all the evidence that shows the negative impacts caused by open net-cages, Norwegian-owned companies are seeking approval to roughly double their current level of already unsafe production in two critical wild salmon migration routes. We need your help to demand the British Columbia government deny these amendments. Send a fax today!
On a site-by-site basis, some farms could triple, quadruple or increase six-fold their current licensed production levels. You can see a map of the proposed increases here. Government should not reward those that are harming our communities, our environment, and our natural resources. Such a massive expansion cannot be permitted. The weight of scientific evidence is telling us loud and clear that open net-cages are negatively affecting coastal ecosystems. We need to end these destructive practices, not increase them.
The government does not seem to be hearing this message. Your voice – whether you are a voting BC resident, a concerned consumer, or someone who wants to keep our oceans healthy for the future – is needed to take a stand.
You can help! Send a fax to BC Premier Gordon Campbell and Hon. Stan Hagen, British Columbia Minister of Agriculture and Lands. Tell them that the expansion of an already harmful industry cannot be tolerated. It’s time to invest in a sustainable future. Closed, contained systems are the only way forward if we are going to continue to have a sustainable farmed salmon industry at all in BC. It’s time to institute emergency measures to protect wild salmon that have already been severely depleted by net cage salmon farms. It’s not the time to reward companies polluting our waters with massive production increases.
Send your fax here
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/fax/stop_the_amendments
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What amazes me is so many of the anti fish farm people I talk to still plan on voting for El Gordo next May...
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What amazes me is so many of the anti fish farm people I talk to still plan on voting for El Gordo next May...
You really think the NDP will get rid of them? Be serious now. A cash cow like the fish farms is not going anywhere from either government.....
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No I do not. The real problem is there is no one to vote for. So I will end up voting Marijuana Party., Marxist or just write in none of the above..
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Seeing as all politicians lie once elected I really don't think the NDP can totally get rid of the fish farms, however I would sooner by far vote for a government that doesn't agree with the fish farms in principle than one that openly supports them and is openly supported by them. If we are stuck with the fish farms then any control that will limit them rather than uncontrolled expansion is welcome. One step at a time even small steps, while not ideal is still helpful. If the wild salmon runs in B.C. are going to be annihilated then the slower the process happens the better, somewhere along the line people might realize the crimes against nature that the governments have created and start working to rectify them and save our salmon.
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The latest News from adopt-a-fry http://www.adopt-a-fry.org/
Hello All:
As it stands salmon "farms" are now a public fishery as per the BC Supreme Court decision. I feel certain this door is being pushed shut as fast as possible and so feel a sense of urgency that if we are going to accomplish anything real in the water at this moment of enormous opportunity that it will take all of us to get this done.
I am hoping that everyone with a fishing license be it commercial, personal, sport or First Nation will consider signing this.
If people want to sign please send me, (Alexandra Morton, wildorca@island.net), your first and last name, your fishery and your town and I will put you on the letter,
Please forward this far and wide as fast as you can.
Standing by,
Alex
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Received this today so am taking the liberty of posting this here. I hope those that have not signed on will and help Alex get a few more names to put on the list. I feel that is the least we can do.
Thanks to all that have signed and will do today or tomorrow.
Hello
I want to thank all of you for your comments and insights as you sent me your names to sign onto the letter "We the Fishermen."
While at first I hoped for 100, this morning we are 702 strong and so I can see that it is possible to reach 1,000.
One thousand people is a lot to close the door on.
I apologize for adding to your inbox, but if each of us tried to get one more person to sign on we would easily reach that goal. The Province has 2 more days to appeal. Marine Harvest said they would fallow the migration route through the Broughton by March, but now say they can't because their market has failed badly. The have not even addressed the affect of their feedlots on the Fraser River migration route.
Right now this industry is hanging on a legal thread, they are a public fishery. If we can't force reason on the situation now, I doubt we will every return to this point.
Please make sure people give me three things
Name
Gear type, or relationship to the fish (3-5 words) Town
Thank you again you have inspired me.
alex
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The latest. Lets get on board, its not too late. We can make a difference if we get involved in these issues
The address is:
wildorca@island.net)
Thanks to all that have signed and to those that will.
Hello All 1,237 of us who have signed the letter
I am really impressed by how many of you have taken a stand and signed this letter, in fact I cannot keep up with you. I have now read over 1000 emails from all of you this week and you have made it clear this is important to you. We still have not received a reply.
Many of you asked that I include Premier Gordon Campbell as a recipient of this letter because we don’t know his intention. Will he appeal, will the federal government sub-delegate the feedlot fishery back to the Province?
The point of this is simply to have the Fisheries Act applied to the salmon aquaculture industry as it is applied to all fisheries and users of the marine environment. With some very generous help from a fisherman I am hoping that you can now sign on electronically. In theory you can click on the link below. I will keep sending the letter with all the names as they come in and I will continue informing you of our progress or lack of it. Please let me know if you don’t want to be contacted anymore. Do not sign up again, but forward this link as far as you can.
We should each also be contacting our M.P.s to let them know our concerns because if sub-delegation is looming your M.P. will be asked to vote on this.
Thank you so much our numbers inspire me and as we all know wild salmon are running out of time. The full letter and your names is on my www.adopt-a-fry.org website under “The Petition.” If this doesn’t work, please bear with me I am a biologist not a computer whiz and I will get it right.
As one of you wrote:
Thank you to all of us,
Alexandra Morton
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Its very quick and easy to all who have not filled it out.
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Today's update, numbers growing.
Dear Honourable Minister of Fisheries Gail Shea, Premier Gordon Campbell and Paul Sprout.
One thousand, nine hundred and thirty nine (1,939) people have signed the attached letter asking that the Fisheries Act be applied to the marine feedlot fishery.
I understand that a few hours ago Marine Harvest appealed the BC Supreme Court decision that made their operations in Canada a fishery. They said it is because they are worried about who owns their fish. I suspect also they are more comfortable as a “farm” under Provincial jurisdiction as wild marine fish are not a Provincial concern.
This must not be an excuse not to deal with the problems. We are really worried about our fish and cannot understand why no one will answer the letters we have been sending asking for several very reasonable aspects of the Fisheries Act to be applied to this fishery.
We are standing by and wishing you wisdom in dealing with this,
Alexandra Morton
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The reply I recieved..............
Thank you for the weight your name carries
To sign the petition to apply the Fisheries Act to fish farms the way it is applied to fishermen please click on the link below......... pass it on
Alexandra Morton
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cEkxX3p3MGFBbWNVVGNVU3lxQnBwQmc6MA..
"jim andre" <jimandre@shaw.ca> wrote:
Jim andre
new westminster B.C
fraser river basin
director of the steelhead society of B.C.
member of the Kingfisher Rod and Gun club
please ad my name to the list.
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fax sent...if the liberals want my vote, they'll take the appropriate action...it would be nice if they outight banned the open-net cage fish farms altogether!
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We're not all paying attention
From what I understand of the recent court ruling that Alexandra Morton was instrumental in obtaining, the salmon farms floating in the BC tidal water are now a FEDERAL GOVERNMENT issue to be regulated by the DFO.
This is no longer a provincial government issue.
Nothing to do with "Gordo" (as some write.)
Nothing to do with our provincial Liberals.
Redirect your effort now to your respective MP's
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The update today.
Dear Fisheries Minister the Honourable Gail Shea and the Premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell:
Three thousand and six people have now signed this letter to you. While the Province of British Columbia did not appeal the BC Supreme Court decision that it was unconstitutional for the Province to be regulating fish farms, Marine Harvest did and so this remains a provincial, as well as, federal issue. We are writing out of concern for our fish, the wild salmon. Regardless of who eventually ends up with the task of regulating the salmon feedlot fishery, we feel it is imperative that the Fisheries Act be applied, starting immediately with placing observers on site during harvest to record by-catch, removing the grow lights which attract wild species into the pens and licencing the vessels transporting salmon to and from these facilities.
We are extremely concerned about the exceptional decline of salmon and herring stocks associated with the salmon feedlots.
Standing by,
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We should be able to encourage far more that three thousand to sign this eh Chris?
I'm thinking that every owner and employee of taclke shops and guiding companies everywhere in the province should be signing on.
Does anyone reading this know the key contacts for fish guiding associations or tackle retailer groups?
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The latest.
Chris
Dear Folks
Our letter has become too big to send to all of you, I will try to post it later today on www.adopt-a-fry.org. This email below and the letter went to the Minister and the Premier a few minutes ago.
Please see the Globe and Mail article below. I believe we will need 2-3 times the signatures we have now to move government to do the right thing.
My deepest thanks to all of you
alexandra
Dear Minister of Fisheries the honourable Gail Shea and Premier Campbell:
As noted in the Globe and Mail this morning, I have been sending you this letter for a month with no reply. What began with 100 signatures from local fishermen has grown to 7,309 signatures from around the world, but predominately British Columbia (5,785).
Premier Campbell, your government has allowed this industry to expand in the face of the most alarming wild salmon declines we have ever seen on this coast.
Minister Shea, this is not a situation of your making, but you have the opportunity to bring reason to this mess.
I will continue to take signatures to help you move past status quo and bring salmon “farming” into compliance with the laws of Canada. BC Supreme Court ruled they are no longer “farms,” they are a fishery. There is debate now as to whether Marine Harvest and the other salmon “farming” companies actually own their fish when they put them into Canadian waters,
All we are asking is for the Fisheries Act to be applied to this industry. As wild salmon decline all the other related fisheries have been increasingly restricted.....except the marine feedlot fishery.
This is a threat to our coastal communities and the economy of British Columbia.
Standing by,
Alexandra Morton
To sign the petition to apply the Fisheries Act to fish farms the way it is applied to fishermen please click on the link below.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cEkxX3p3MGFBbWNVVGNVU3lxQnBwQmc6MA..
The Globe and Mail
Fisheries ignored 500 names. Can it ignore 5,000?
by Mark Hume
March 23, 2009
VANCOUVER -- The form letter that Premier Gordon Campbell and federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea keep ignoring is just getting longer.
In circulation for only a few weeks, it already has nearly 5,000 signatories, and more names are being added daily as it circulates on the Web.
When it first went to the politicians, 500 names were affixed. It was ignored, so it went back into circulation and soon was resubmitted with 2,000 names, then with 4,000. It's making the rounds again this week, and is still growing.
Started by research scientist and fisheries activist Alexandra Morton, the letter asks the government to take decisive action to protect wild salmon from the threats posed by salmon farms.
One of the key requests is that salmon farms be moved away from wild salmon migration routes because of the transmission of sea lice from caged fish.
The people who signed the letter worry that salmon farms are an unacceptable risk to wild stocks.
And that fear is about to be heightened by a study being released today that shows juvenile sockeye from the Fraser River are encountering fish farms at an alarming rate.
Michael Price, a biologist with Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and Craig Orr, executive director of Watershed Watch, studied 800 wild sockeye collected in 2007-08 in northern Georgia Strait.
About 70 per cent of those fish had one to 20 sea lice attached to them. And the fish caught near farms were the most likely to be infected.
"The lice levels appear to be higher near farms," said Mr. Price, who is still analyzing the data.
Past studies by Ms. Morton have documented the spread of lice from farms to wild pink and chum salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, an area off Vancouver Island's northeast shoulder.
But the study by Mr. Price and Dr. Orr looks at sockeye, and for the first time uses DNA analysis to trace the infected fish to their watershed of origin.
The researchers conclude most of the sockeye they caught migrating near salmon farms (60 per cent in 2007 and 99 per cent in 2008) came from the Fraser River.
Sockeye are the most valuable of all salmon species because they draw a higher price on the market and because they are the fish of choice for native food and ceremonial fisheries.
Mr. Price and Dr. Orr have now linked the most valuable fish, from B.C.'s most important salmon river, to farms and lice.
Mr. Price said juvenile sockeye can follow three routes as they migrate through Georgia Strait on the outward leg of their journey to the Gulf of Alaska.
"But all these routes converge before the Broughton Archipelago [at the north end of Georgia Strait] where there are a dozen farms," he said.
"It's clear that no fish can make this journey without encountering a farm."
Mr. Price said studies have shown that one to three lice can kill a juvenile pink salmon, so it's fair to assume sockeye are dying as well.
Could this help explain the collapse of Fraser River sockeye stocks?
Some people will no doubt find this an alarming possibility.
The form letter, triggered by concerns about pink and chum, describes wild salmon as "the backbone of the B.C. Coast," and urges both Ms. Shea and Mr. Campbell to protect migrating wild stocks from fish farms.
So far, the politicians have been able to ignore the ever-growing letter. But the new study can only ratchet up the pressure.
Now that people know it's not just pink salmon, but Fraser River sockeye stocks that are at risk, one has to wonder how many more names will get added to that letter.
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Amazing!
After all the requests for support in signing a letter in support of saving some of our coastal and river salmon, Alexandra has only a little over 7000 signatures of which only a bit over 5000 are actually from BC.
With new evidence that sockeye are encountering lice from Fish Farms enroute to ocean areas, you would think that the Feds, particulary FOC would use the "precautionary principal" just in case people like Alexandra Morton, Mr Price and Dr Orr are correct!
Why wait until the runs are too far gone to restore? Sorry.....rhetorical question. We've heard most of the reasons! Money, jobs, power projects......
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Today's update.
CG
Dear Fisheries Minister the Honourable Gail Shea and Premier Gordon Campbell:
Eleven thousand (11,000) people have signed a letter asking you to please apply the Fisheries Act to fish farms and you have not given us an answer.
We continue to standby
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Another update.
Dear Fisheries Minister the Honourable Gail Shea and Premier Gordon Campbell:
12,018 people have signed a letter over the past month and half asking only that you apply the Fisheries Act to the salmon ocean feedlots in Canada and we still have not heard back.
The Fisheries Act is a powerful piece of Canadian legislation written to protect the extremely valuable wild fish populations of Canada. It is the law, not an optional course of action.
The letter is at www.adopt-a-fry.org The Letter.
We continue to stand-by,
Alexandra Morton
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By the amount of people in the poll on who you are voting for that are voting Liberal and with the Liberals at 525 you should stop wasting your time as El Gordo does not and will not care unless you are a big business.
We really need a revolution...
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By the amount of people in the poll on who you are voting for that are voting Liberal and with the Liberals at 525 you should stop wasting your time as El Gordo does not and will not care unless you are a big business...
You're a little unclear on the nature of political action and I'm a little short of time to teach you (since you have so much to learn).
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Today's update.
CG
Hello
I am on my way to Ottawa to try and better carry our message that the Fisheries Act must be applied to the salmon feedlots.
On April 22 Jean Michelle’s 2 hour documentary “Call of the Killer Whale” will air on PBS.
He examines the impact of the salmon feedlots on wild salmon and whales.
The number of signatures continues to grow, please let as many people know as possible that their voice will make a difference on this letter. Clearly we need more than 12,500 names.
Www.adopt-a-fry.org
Alexandra Morton
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Today's update
CG
Hello All:
The Federal government wants to know if Gordon Campbell intends to try and win back the right to regulate fish farms.
As it stands, Marine Harvest filed a “notice of appeal” and the Province joined in this appeal by filing an “appearance”. This is an ambiguous state of affairs. While Gordon Campbell has not publicly appealed my Constitutional Challenge, he has reserved the right to send lawyers to defend the Province’s right to regulate and site fish farms.
If the Province did not want salmon farms back, they would not have filed an “appearance.”
The Province has no responsibility to protect wild fish, the Federal Government does.
There is something you can do. Contact the Liberal MLA candidates running in this Provincial election and ask them what they will do if elected? Give up the right to regulate fish farms in the ocean, or fight to win this back. If they plan to give it up why have they filed an appearance in Marine Harvest’s appeal?
You can find the Liberal MLA emails at http://www.bcliberals.com/
This is very important.
Alexandra Morton
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Today's update
Dear Minister of Fisheries, the Honourable Gail Shea and Premier Gordon Campbell,
I am writing to you again, as I have every week since the middle of February, to ask that you apply three sections of the Fisheries Act to the industrial salmon feedlots. I have not received a reply. The U.S. Organization Trout Unlimited has sent their own letter to you with 360 signatures on it.
They write:
...”we can no longer stand by and watch silently as this new salmon crisis unfolds. We have begun to call on our legions of advocates to voice their support for the protection of British Columbia’s wild salmon and steelhead stocks before it is too late.”
Premier Campbell 13,094 people have signed letters to you on this issue but there remains confusion over your position on salmon farms. You have suggested on your website that you do not intend to attempt to regain control of fish farms following my constitutional challenge which removed salmon farms to the Federal government. However, you have joined the Norwegian fish farm corporation Marine Harvest in their appeal challenging this BC Supreme Court decision. Your actions contradict your words.
In a recent trip to Ottawa MPs and Senators asked me what you intend to do:
Appeal the decision
or
Abide by the decision
Please visit www.adopt-a-fry.org to read the Trout Unlimited letter.
No one can understand why or how the salmon farming industry in Canada is allowed to operate outside the Fisheries Act which applies to everyone using the marine environment.
Alexandra Morton
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Another update from Alexandra. You will note the video link was posted on another thread yesterday.
CG
Hello All,
Here in British Columbia we are in the last two weeks of electing a Provincial government and this will have critical affect on wild salmon due to privatization of rivers and ocean spaces, even schools of fish. Many of you received responses from the BC government currently in power, the “Liberals,” headed by Premier Gordon Campbell. They said the BC government is not allowed to intervene in the Appeal of the Constitutional Challenge I won regarding fish farms. This is not correct they do have this power. I have written a response on the website www.adopt-a-fry.org It is becoming very clear that while the current BC government has allowed the salmon feedlots to expand despite the science, public outcry and impact on rural economies they realize they are a political liability and thus are making every effort to distance themselves from the industry.
There are simple answers to this mess which now threatens the entire eastern Pacific and the BC economy. Aquaculture is not the problem, the problem is lack of political will. Alaskan salmon have political will on their side and they are thriving
For those of you in B.C. please view this film below and vote. The existence of wild salmon depends very much on this election.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPuJfbS2qMY
I apologize for the number of emails, but if we want wild salmon we all need to act now.
Alexandra Morton
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Nothing would make me happier with fishing in BC right now than seeing those Norwegian fisheries have to either change to an enclosed system or shut down and disappear and destroy the fish in their own country for a change.
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Monday's update.
To those of you in Vancouver.
The Wilderness Committee will be carrying our letter with its’ 13,000 signatures to Gordon Campbell’s constituency office. They have built a salmon mascot, Tum Tum who will join them and will be also delivering their own petition with 33,000 signatures on it urging government to protect wild salmon from fish “farms.” I am hoping to be there as well.
When: Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 12 noon
Where: In front of BC government cabinet offices at World Trade Centre at Canada Place, downtown Vancouver
It is remarkable to me that there has been no answer to our letter simply asking for the laws of Canada to be applied and I appreciate the Wilderness Committee delivering this in person. Many of you have received the same email from different Liberal MLA candidates saying that the Province is not allowed to interfere with the BC Supreme Court decision, but this is not accurate. In filing an Appearance they have given themselves the option to send lawyers to the appeal filed by the fish farmers. They may indeed have decided not to fight the decision, but why then has Gordon Campbell not answered our letter?
I am hoping that we don’t get to find out. We need someone in government who can answer a question asked by 13,000 people.
I learned this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Agency has a ban on importation of food products that have been exposed to the chemical Emamectin benzoate (Slice) that Canadian fish farms use to suppress their sea lice. Fish farmers use this chemical in many places where people collect sea food to eat and despite requests never post notices to the public so we could avoid the drug. There is an article on page 12 in Pacific Fishing on this:
http://openpub.realread.com/rrserver/browser?title=/North_West_Publishing_Center/PF_May09_1280 <http://openpub.realread.com/rrserver/browser?title=/North_West_Publishing_Center/PF_May09_1280>
In a remote, wilderness so beautiful it captures your soul, I have raised my children on seafood exposed to a drug banned in the U.S.
Alexandra Morton
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A reply I received today. I am sure many of you have been sent the same.
Dear Chris Gadsden:
Thank you for your correspondence regarding the aquaculture industry.
I appreciate your concerns about potential impacts of salmon farming, and I assure you that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) takes these matters very seriously.
DFO supports the development of sustainable aquaculture within the context of conserving and rebuilding our wild Pacific salmon. Aquaculture operations are subject to rigorous environmental standards under a number of statutes and regulations, including the Fisheries Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, to ensure our marine ecosystems are not compromised.
In addition, Canada’s Policy for the Conservation of Wild Pacific Salmon (WSP) is the basis for fishery management plans and sets out a process for the protection, conservation and rebuilding of wild salmon and their marine and freshwater ecosystems. DFO also considers its WSP during the approval process for fish farm siting applications.
The Department is committed to continually improving the management of aquaculture based on the best available science.
DFO will continue to work to conserve and protect salmon stocks for current and future generations. Thank you for taking the time to write to me with your concerns.
Sincerely,
Original Signed By
Gail Shea, P.C., M.P.
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The latest update from Alexandra.
With the results of the election from last Tuesday it appears to be a uphill battle on the fish farm front for the next 4 years and I have to agree with Alexandra the courts may continue to be the only avenue to go to stop the assault on our wild fish stocks. Of course when you see we only get 50% of the eligible people out to vote many do not seem to care about such things as fish farms but some do not vote for many reasons including they get frustrated with politics and politicans.
Also it may be the time for all the dozens of different environmental groups in British Columbia to band together as one so there is a very very strong voice. This is of course can be difficult as these groups have different ideas on other issues tend to keep us separated. It is like the debates on flossing and fly fishing only (I only use that as a comparsion so please do not bring that in to the discussion) that keeps us anglers at odds with each other. We also saw this during election when some usually NDP environmnetal supporters backed the Liberals. The carbon tax was one of them. Of course this was an ace in the hole for them and helped the Liberal party gain some much needed seats to gain power for a third term.
I know Alexander has other groups and people working with her but I feel we need more and to that end I will talk to some of my groups I are involved in the next little while to see if they feel we could accomplish bringing more people into the fold so to speak. Please give your feelings here what more we need to do to reach that end.
Of course we realize so much has done by Alexandra and others over the years but you can see she was getting close to packing it in. If that happened we would be sunk without her dedication and leadership on this cause for so many years. Some may wish to consider sending her a personal e - mail encouraging and thanking her for keeping at it, not only for us but most importantly for the wild fish.
CG
Hello
Gordon Campbell locked the doors when I tried to deliver our letter and left us on the street. Campbell has been re-elected and at first I thought this meant BC does not actually want wild salmon, nor their rivers. I began to make plans to give up and get my own life back in order, but then someone forwarded me this map. The ridings with wild salmon and wild salmon rivers, did not actually elect Campbell.
Thousands of people have told me they want wild salmon and have wished me success in this, but at every BC election a handicap is laid on us who are trying to do this. I am writing to say people cannot wave from the sidelines any longer, because we are not succeeding. Wild salmon are going extinct on our watch. Yes, yes climate change will be a factor, but wild salmon are built to survive cataclysmic change in their environment and if we allow their genetic warehouse to rebuild right now, we stand a far better chance of receiving the food and energy this fish brings to us in the years to come.
Grieg Seafood is trying to build two of the biggest fish farms on the coast, on the juvenile salmon migration route for Fraser River and East Vancouver Island stocks, at York Island. Marine Harvest is trying to increase the size of their “farms” coastwide. They are taking me back to court this summer to resolve whether they own their fish in the Canadian Ocean. Atlantic salmon eggs are still being imported into BC, despite the Infectious Salmon Anemia virus popping up everywhere the Norwegian salmon farmers operate. Emamectin benzoate (Slice) is being used in our waters....with no warnings posted during usage...even though the U.S. Food and Drug Agency apparently has a ban on any food products “exposed” to this neurotoxin (Pacific Fishing current issue). This means all of us who are fishing, and harvesting seafood near fish farms have no way to make sure we are not “exposed” to the drug. And the fish feedlots are in violation of many sections of the Fisheries Act.
Not only is there no progress, we are moving backwards.
I am headed to Norway next week, but doubt anyone is listening there either.
I can only see two ways forward.... The courts..... And for us all to step up and say “no more.”
The solution is so simple: Apply the laws of Canada, The Fisheries Act. If the Norwegians can’t comply they should leave. Give the Canadian fish farmers who want to revamp their industry in closed tanks a break in getting set up. Market wild and farm fish to raise the value of both. And restore wild salmon in a way that has never been tried.....adhering to their biology, the natural laws that have caused them to thrive in the first place.
And we need everyone who wants wild salmon to sign this letter. Currently we are at 14,000.....and we are still on the street, this was not enough to even get in the door.
It is up to you guys.
Alexandra Morton
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From the Tyee
The future of salmon
Globally, ocean biodiversity is threatened by overfishing, and here it's no different.
Lash March, Pacific Salmon Forum -- which was commissioned by the provincial government to research ways to enhance sustainability of aquaculture, and to protect and enhance viability of wild salmon stocks -- released its final report and recommendations.
"We're solidly in favour of those recommendations being implemented, and our objective is to try and make sure that government will do that," says John Werring, a marine and freshwater conservation specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation.
The foundation's approach is two-way conversations with government and industry.
"We're trying to talk to the industry, to convince them it's in their best environmental interest to change their practices, and trying to convince government that it's in their best interest to change the way fish farming is done in B.C.," says Werring.
But the provincial government has not yet moved on two of the Pacific Salmon Forum's key recommendations: limiting production and moving towards inland fish farms.
"What the government and industry are doing instead is proposing, or at least industry is requesting, to increase [fish farm] production. And government is seriously considering it... either to double or triple current levels," said Werring.
The desire to expand is "extremely problematic" because it means the possibility of replacing open-net fish farms with closed containment systems is more and more unlikely.
"Industry is saying we can't move to closed containment because there are no known technologies that would produce fish at the current levels," he says. "In the meantime, they want to expand production... That loop will never be closed."
Protests might ramp up
When asked if the two-way dialogue approach could be effective, given the fact that fish farms can't agree on this key issue, Werring says it's possible that more direct action in the form of protests or civil disobedience might be needed.
"We will have to wait and see and cross the bridge when we get to it," he says. "We're trying to take a reasoned, middle-ground approach, recognizing that the industry is here and it creates jobs and stimulates the economy."
"If they do expand by two or three times," adds Werring, "You can basically kiss every wild salmon on this coast goodbye."
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Please vote where Alex has indicated. Thanks
Hello
The Courier Islander paper in Campbell River is asking for us to vote again, this time to on whether or not we think the two Grieg fish farm applications in Johnstone Strait should be approved or not. They are two of the largest fish farm applications made on this coast and will be placed opposite one another in a narrow channel where it meets Johnstone Strait. In years when there is warm water off shore 1/3 of all BC wild salmon will pass these farms on route to their southcoast rivers. In spring millions of juvenile salmon will have to run through or along these farms to reach open water.
The two most vulnerable moments in a salmon’s life are saltwater entry and seawater entry and these farms and the many farms east of them expose a significant percent of BC’s wild salmon to whatever pathogens are in the farms from sea lice to viruses.
No other feedlots are allowed to come into such close contact with wild species and no other farmers in Canada are allowed to never deal with their wastes and simply release them into one of Canada’s most valuable fishery.
Despite the science and resistance form local communities, the same three Norwegian companies just keep applying for more and bigger fish farms in BC.
The voting box is on the upper right hand side of the page at http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/index.html
The public has never been given this opportunity to voice its opinion such before format.
If you have not done so please sign my letter (www.adopt-a-fry.org) asking that the Fisheries Act be applied to fish farms as it is to all other marine activities. If there are enough people raising their voices reason will be brought to bear on this situation. The solution is simple apply the laws of Canada, support the Canadian fish farmers who want to reinvent their industry on land and restore the wild salmon using their own remarkable biology.
Alexandra Morton
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My response to Alexandra's note from above. I sent it to some other groups as well.
Thanks once again Alexandra, I have posted this on fishingwithrod.com. I have been thinking for some time we that are involved in environmental issues be it fish farms, run of the river projects, urban encroachment, gravel mining on the Fraser River, loss of precious agriculture lands etc., the list is long I know. I believe we need to get all the environmental groups in British Columbia and beyond to come together as one big group to tackle our British Columbia and Federal Government that is really not listening to us as they continue on their agenda at the expense of our fish.
I know this may be hard to do as there can be politics involved between some groups but if we are going to preserve our fish stocks and their habitat for future generation we must band together before it is too late. Comments welcome from all if this would be visible and worth exploring in the near future.
Thanks once again for all your continuing hard work on behalf of so many of us.
Kindest Regards,
Chris
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You really think the NDP will get rid of them? Be serious now. A cash cow like the fish farms is not going anywhere from either government.....
the libs got rid of a cash cow known as photo radar vans so your argument is puerile; just because it makes money does not mean it cant be removed..all depends on public commitment to a cause.
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My Vote is in...
As for the 'Cash Cows' - The removal of Photo Radar was purely an easy 'Election Promise' to keep - not many jobs on the line. As for fish farming - a lot of jobs are at stake. Neither party would keep this promise.
The best we can possibly hope for is a moratorium on any new open water fish farms and restricting any new fish farms to an on-land containment system. However - I can foresee a legal challenge siting an unfair cost disadvantage from any company who would think of building such.
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With the ongoing disaster in Chile from the fish farms, they no doubt want to increase production where the major fish farmers can. It's about keeping their part of the profit not protecting any natural resource.